The Falklands Naval Station (Spanish : Apostadero Naval Malvinas) was the main base of the naval component of Argentina in the Falklands Islands (or Malvinas Islands), during the South Atlantic conflict of 1982.
The Falklands Naval Station (Spanish : Apostadero Naval Malvinas) was the main base of the naval component of Argentina in the Falklands Islands (or Malvinas Islands), during the South Atlantic conflict of 1982.
The Falklands Naval Station [1] [2] [3] was a naval port facility of the Argentine Navy, established on April 2, 1982 by the Sea Fleet Command; having been located in the town of Port Stanley , the main port and population center of the Falklands Islands. The unit was established in the buildings near the East Pier of Port Stanley, although part of the staff was also commissioned to other places in the capital and the rest of the archipelago. The first and only commanding officer was frigate captain Adolfo Aurelio Gaffoglio and the unit was dissolved de facto with the end of the 1982 conflict.[ citation needed ]
Initially, its purpose was to provide logistical support to the naval units operating in the Falklands but as the Falklands War developed, its activities extended to undertake missions of all kinds. Argentina had not been in a war since the 19th Century and as a result, the force marked a number of milestones in the history of Argentina's Naval Force, including the anchoring of naval mines [4] and the launch of Exocet MM-38 missiles in a coastal defence role using an improvised launcher. [5]
Sailors from the command were tasked with manning the small coastal craft seized from the Falkland Islands Government and Falkland Islands Company. On 1 May 1982, Islas Malvinas GC82 , an Argentine Z-28 type naval patrol boat was damaged near the Kidney Island by a Westland Lynx HAS.Mk.2/3 helicopter from HMS Alacrity, the British helicopter (XZ720) was also damaged by fire from the armed coaster Forrest. [6] [7] During a mission carried out by Monsunen to resupply the garrison at Port Stanley from Fox Bay, the small Argentine vessel was engaged by British naval and air forces during the Battle of Seal Cove. Although compelled to temporarily abandon the ship when it ran aground, it refloated on the incoming tide and with assistance from the Forest they were able to complete the resupply trip. [8] [9] In the closing moments of the war, seamen from the unit were deployed as infantry supporting the Argentine marines and engaged the SBS and SAS during the diversionary raid on Port Stanley Harbour. [10] [11]
The ships stationed at this base included:
In addition, there was a small unit known as the "Boat Group" (Spanish : Dotación de Lanchas), which crewed the tugboat Lively, two EDPV-type landing craft and a barge used for refuelling. [12]
The history of the Falkland Islands goes back at least five hundred years, with active exploration and colonisation only taking place in the 18th century. Nonetheless, the Falkland Islands have been a matter of controversy, as they have been claimed by the French, British, Spaniards and Argentines at various points.
Malvinas is the Spanish name for the Falkland Islands, an archipelago in the south Atlantic Ocean which is a British Overseas Territory.
This article describes the composition and actions of the Argentine naval forces in the Falklands War. For a list of naval forces from the United Kingdom, see British naval forces in the Falklands War.
ARA Isla de los Estados was an Argentine Navy supply ship sunk during the Falklands War.
East Falkland is the largest island of the Falklands in the South Atlantic, having an area of 6,605 km2 or 54% of the total area of the Falklands. The island consists of two main land masses, of which the more southerly is known as Lafonia; it is joined by a narrow isthmus where the settlement of Goose Green is located, and it was the scene of the Battle of Goose Green during the Falklands War.
ARA Bahía Buen Suceso (B-6) was a Bahía Aguirre-class 5,000-ton fleet transport that served in the Argentine Navy from 1950 to 1982. She took part in the Falklands War as a logistics ship tasked with resupplying the Argentine garrisons scattered around the Falkland Islands. Captured by British forces on 15 June after running aground at Fox Bay, she sank in deep waters while being used as target practice by the Royal Navy on 21 October 1982.
Sovereignty over the Falkland Islands is disputed by Argentina and the United Kingdom. The British claim to sovereignty dates from 1690, when they made the first recorded landing on the islands, and the United Kingdom has exercised de facto sovereignty over the archipelago almost continuously since 1833. Argentina has long disputed this claim, having been in control of the islands for a few years prior to 1833. The dispute escalated in 1982, when Argentina invaded the islands, precipitating the Falklands War.
This is a list of the ground forces from Argentina that took part in the Falklands War. For a list of ground forces from the United Kingdom, see British ground forces in the Falklands War.
Luis Vernet was a merchant from Hamburg of Huguenot descent. Vernet established a settlement on East Falkland in 1828, after first seeking approval from both the British and Argentine authorities. As such, Vernet is a controversial figure in the history of the Falkland Islands sovereignty dispute.
The Falkland Islands is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about 300 mi (480 km) east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about 752 mi (1,210 km) from Cape Dubouzet at the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, at a latitude of about 52°S. The archipelago, with an area of 4,700 sq mi (12,000 km2), comprises East Falkland, West Falkland, and 776 smaller islands. As a British overseas territory, the Falklands have internal self-governance, but the United Kingdom takes responsibility for their defence and foreign affairs. The capital and largest settlement is Stanley on East Falkland.
Kidney Island so called due to its shape, is a small island with a land area of 33 hectares, to the east of East Falkland, not far from Stanley. It lies is at the east end of Berkeley Sound near Kidney Cove, and is separated from Port William by Menguera Point. It is a nature reserve and, unlike most of the main islands, is still covered in tussac grass. Its wildlife includes penguins and sea lions. It is one of only three places in the archipelago where king penguins breed; the others are Saunders Island and Volunteer Point on East Falkland.
The Battle of Seal Cove was a minor naval action west of Lively Island, during the 1982 Falklands War. On the evening of 22 May 1982, while supporting Operation Sutton off San Carlos Bay, the British frigates HMS Brilliant and HMS Yarmouth received orders to stop and seize the Argentine Navy armed coastal supply boat ARA Monsunen. Under heavy shelling, the coaster managed to avoid capture by grounding on a nearby inlet.
HMS Tiger Bay was a Z-28-class patrol boat operated by the British Royal Navy, previously the Argentine Coast Guard vessel PNA Islas Malvinas (GC-82), which was seized at Port Stanley by the crew of HMS Cardiff on 14 June 1982 following the Argentine surrender during the Falklands War.
Mario Benjamin Menéndez was the Argentine governor of the Falklands during the 1982 Argentine occupation of the islands. He also served in the Argentine Army. Menéndez surrendered Argentine forces to Britain during the Falklands War.
The invasion of South Georgia, also known as the Battle of Grytviken or Operation Georgias, took place on 3 April 1982, when Argentine Navy forces seized control of the east coast of South Georgia after overpowering a small group of Royal Marines at Grytviken. Though outnumbered, the Royal Marines shot down a helicopter and hit the Argentine corvette ARA Guerrico several times before being forced to surrender. It was one of the first episodes of the Falklands War, immediately succeeding the invasion on the Falkland Islands the day before.
Empresa Líneas Marítimas Argentinas (ELMA) was an Argentine cargo shipping line formed on September 30, 1960, after Juan Perón nationalised the shipping industry. The Argentine Maritime Lines Company involved the merger of two companies, both state: the Merchant Fleet of the State (FME) and Argentina Fleet of Navigation of Ultramar (FANU). It served Argentina's foreign trade until the 1990s, when the government of Carlos Menem declared its dissolution. At its peak its fleet had more than 60 ships. Ships sailed to Northern Europe, the United Kingdom, the Baltic Sea, the Mediterranean, the east coasts of the United States of America and Canada, the Gulf of Mexico, the Pacific, the Middle East and Far East and Africa.
The 601 Commando Company is a special operations unit of the Argentine Army.
In the late 1840s, the Argentine Confederation attempted to regulate traffic on the Paraná and Uruguay rivers, which impacted upon Anglo-French trade with the landlocked Paraguay. As a result, Britain and France took military action in the blockade of the Río de la Plata. Although militarily successful, the victories against Argentine forces proved somewhat pyrrhic and both withdrew their forces and made treaties with Argentina. The peace treaty with the British is referred to as the Convention of Settlement; or the Arana–Southern Treaty.
María Sáez Pérez de Vernet was the wife of Luis Vernet. She wrote a personal diary during her residence in Port Louis, Falkland Islands, which was preserved together with other documents and letters in the Argentine National Archive when her husband's papers were donated to the Argentine National Archive.
Bobs Island is an island of the Falkland Islands. It is located in the western part of Salvador Water, north of East Falkland. It is located near the mouth of the Pedro River and Punta Acantilado on the Olivieri peninsula.